Red
by Lucy Kent
Summary: The Weasleys have tried everything to help Harry over the trauma he has suffered, they have reached a dead-end and decide to have Charlie give it a shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Written for the Pokémon Journey Challenge**

 **Prompts: sudden, beginning**

 **Word count: 1,889**

* * *

The moment he arrived in Romania, Harry's stomach dropped. After apparition this wasn't so abnormal, but it was the sight of the red-haired man waiting that made a sudden terror fill his veins. He almost apparated back right then. For a few minutes, the two of them stood there staring at each other. Harry had no idea what the man could be thinking, but his own thoughts were surrounded on Ginny. Beautiful, lovely Ginny. Harry felt his throat catch. Shivers began to rake down his back and his hands shook. His vision began to tunnel and he barely remained standing. This wasn't his idea. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to go back. Harry took a step away but Charlie was next to him in a flash gripping his wrist. Harry could see words in his eyes, but said nothing. Harry looked away, unwilling to read them. Then Harry found his eyes trained on the familiar red tint of hair. Red... Red swept across his vision and black soon followed.

* * *

Charlie was glad he had a hand on Harry as the man fainted. Charlie felt his own emotions fluttering inside but he held them at bay and side-apparated Harry to his home. They landed in the guest bedroom and Charlie gently laid the shaking man onto the bed. As he stood, he looked down at Harry. The 27 year-old man's face was starting to get premature worry lines. His eyes were sealed shut, and Charlie watched as tears built up in the corners. But they didn't fall. Charlie felt his breath leave him and he collapsed into the chair next to the bed. He hadn't known what to expect, but this nervous man was not it.

But Charlie could admit to himself that he wasn't completely unprepared for it. Ron's owl had said Harry was in a bad way. Everyone else in the Weasley family had tried something to help, Hermione included, to no avail. Despite this, Harry had refused to go to a mind healer. Charlie wasn't sure how he was supposed to help where others failed. Charlie had been planning on talking to Harry, but the panic that had colored the man's eyes... Charlie didn't think they were at talking yet. But he didn't have much else to offer.

* * *

Harry felt much calmer when he woke up, the world in its natural hues. He lay perfectly still and stared at the stone ceiling above him. It reminded him of Hogwarts a bit. A comforting thought. Harry suddenly became aware of another set of lungs in the room. Slowly, to not start whoever it was, Harry turned to look. He saw Charlie Weasley slouched in a wooden chair, his chin resting on his chest and his arms crossed. He was sleeping. Emotions warred in Harry. He still wanted to run. But he had promised Hermione he would come here. He had promised to try. How could he not after seeing Hermione break down into tears. Harry shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

Harry knew he wasn't OK. He knew that. But why did he have to be here with another Weasley. Why did Charlie have to have the same red hair and the same eyes as Ginny? Ginny... Harry felt as though a fissure deepened in his chest and he gasped. His breaths came faster and faster as he fought to keep the memories at bay. He got lost in his mind and didn't realize his body was thrashing as his hands were clawing at his chest

* * *

Charlie woke when he heard a gasp. He looked up to see Harry's nails digging at the center of his chest. Charlie reacted on instinct. He cast a detection spell. No magic lingered under Harry's fingers. This was both a relief and caused him worry. Charlie took a fortifying breath before he walked over to the bed. Harry's eyes were flickering just under the lids. A nightmare than. He remembered what his mom used to do for his nightmares so he gripped Harry's face with his hands. Keeping the head still he began to rub his thumbs in circles softly over Harry's temples.

At first Harry didn't respond. For the first five minutes Harry didn't respond. Charlie almost gave up hope but then Harry slowly began to still. Finally, he stopped moving his fingers rigid but no longer digging into the blood that had welled up. There was a moment, then Harry let out a shuddering breath and his whole body seemed to deflate. Harry didn't open his eyes but opened his mouth.

"Thank you Charlie." Charlie wasn't sure what to say, so he placed a hand against Harry's forearm. Harry stiffened and Charlie froze. Before he moved his hand away again Harry relaxed slightly. He repeated the words. "Thank you Charlie."

Three days later and Charlie was still at a loss to how he could help Harry. They hardly spoke to one another. Charlie had heard from Ron that Harry liked to put silencing charms around his bed so no one could hear his nightmares. So he spent his nights in the wooden chair, although he had the sense to cast some cushioning charms the second night.

Charlie was still thinking of things he could do when someone began hammering on his door. Without hesitation, he went to the door and opened it. Jackson stood there and opened his mouth to say something but then glanced behind Charlie and froze. Charlie turned to find Harry standing there, a wand at the ready. Charlie felt horribly stupid. "Harry its OK. He's my coworker." Harry changed from poised to frozen for a moment before slowly lowering his wand. But he noticed that Harry didn't put it away. Charlie turned back to Jackson. "What's going on?"

Jackson took a moment to reply his attention still on the man behind Charlie. But then his eyes lit up in remembrance. "It's the Opaleye. We don't know what's wrong; she's huddled in a corner and hissing at everyone and everything."

"Is she pregnant?"

Jackson shook his head. "The spells detect nothing like that, no pregnancy, no illness, not even a splinter."

Charlie nodded. "Ok. I'm coming." Charlie glanced at Harry before continuing. "Harry, come with me."

Jackson spoke up. "Weasley, you know we can't have a..." Jackson stopped at Charlie's glare. "Fine. But it's your responsibility."

"I know." Charlie turned Harry. "Coming?" Harry's eyes flickered between Jackson, Charlie, and then up, as though contemplating his room. He bit his lip and his fingers tightened and loosened on his wand. Harry's eyes met Charlie's before slipping away again. But the man nodded his head. Charlie flashed him a smile, even though Harry has turned his head down and could not see it. "Good." Charlie nodded at Jackson before closing the door. He turned fully to Harry and held out his hand. Harry hesitated again, his hand slowly raising before hovering a hair's breathe away from Charlie's. But then it dropped into Charlie's palm, he felt how cool Harry's hand was to his, and they both disappeared with a large Crack!

* * *

They feel out of the tunnel of apparition at the entrance of a large cave. Charred earth circled the entrance. Charlie released his hand and told him to stay where he was. Harry watched as the man fearlessly walked into the cave and couldn't help but follow a minute later. He didn't have to go far. He was able to see the dragon only a few feet in. He was immediately stunned by its beauty. It was a light blue color with lines of pearl colored scales that swirled around its body. It was currently wrapped into a tight ball and the ground around it was lit with a vivid red flame. Harry's eyes moved to the only other thing moving. Charlie.

Harry gulped back his own fear as he watched the man approach with his hands raised. The dragon didn't respond at first. But its head soon lifted from the folds of body and lowered down to Charlie's hand. As it did so, it smothered the flames around it, starting with those closer to the man. Harry couldn't hear what Charlie was saying, but then Harry heard a slow rumbling that he could understand.

"My fire-child. I missed you." Harry watched in fascination as the dragon slowly relaxed at Charlie's touch until soon the man was sitting on the dragon's forearm and was slowly running his hand down the dragon's chest. The dragon was nearly purring and Harry nearly laughed at the words. "My beautiful fire-child. I am so glad I don't want to eat you. That it... just... ahhh. Yes. Fire-child that spot always itches lately. I wonder if I eat you if you could always itch it." Harry found himself snorting loudly despite himself. It was half humor-half fear. The sound echoed and two sets of eyes shot toward him. One was too far away for him to make out the emotions it carried, but the dragon's eyes entranced Harry. They eyes glittered blue, green, and purple. Harry took a step closer before he knew what he was doing.

The dragon saw still but didn't seem to be ready to attack so Harry took another step. Soon he found himself only a mere foot from the dragon, standing nearly nose to nose with it.

* * *

Charlie held his breath. He knew the dragon didn't feel threatened by Harry. But Charlie was still sure she would decide to eat him soon enough. He started to open his mouth to tell Harry to back away when Harry reached up and ran a hand down the length of the dragon's nose. The Opaleye shuddered, Harry looked fascinated, and Charlie was shocked. The dragon began to make the hissing noises she made whenever content, but then they both froze when Harry hissed at the dragon in response.

The dragon turned to look at Charlie for a moment before turning back to Harry and hissing at him directly. Harry hissed back. Charlie was dumped uncaringly from his perch as the dragon stood and began to walk around Harry. Charlie stood and watched as Harry held still as the dragon sniffed every inch of Harry and hissed at him.

Harry smiled slightly and hissed in response. Charlie felt his heart clench. He was talking to the dragon. Oh god! Charlie dropped back down to the ground, his knees having given up on him. Harry was talking to the dragon!

"Charlie?" he heard seconds before he felt the dragon nudge him with her nose. He looked up and it took a moment for his eyes to focus on the dragon before turning to Harry then back to the dragon. "Charlie?" Harry seemed a bit panicked and kneeled beside him, his hands hovering as if to check for injury. "Charlie, what's wrong? Did you get hurt when she stood up?" The dragon began hissing furiously and Charlie felt his breath catch as he heard Harry translate. "She didn't mean to. She said sorry. She didn't mean to hurt her fire..." Harry froze and closed his mouth at something the dragon said.

Charlie watched as the man's face turned bright red and he hissed back at the dragon fervently. The Opaleye shook her head and used her tail and head to nudge Harry closer and closer to Charlie. The dragon was only satisfied when Harry's knees were pressed against his leg. Charlie was still in a bit of a daze as Harry pulled out his wand and performed some spells on Charlie. Finally he found his voice. Charlie gripped Harry's arms. "Did you just talk to the Opaleye?"

Harry's eyes widened as his arms tried to pull from Charlie's grip. "I..." Harry glanced at the dragon and hissed something at her. She hissed back before curling her body around the two, her head resting on her tail. "She said that she was raised by Nu Wa... whatever that is."

Charlie gulped and released Harry before putting his hands at his own temples. The researching part of his mind was going crazy. "It's the Chinese version of Lamia." He answered even as he began to think of the possibilities. There was silence and so Charlie looked up and saw Harry didn't understand. "They are half snake." Harry's eyes lit up at that and he turned to the dragon and spoke to her. Harry nodded after she answered. "Yes. So she speaks mostly in snake-language when she is alone because it is her birth tongue... first language." Questions seemed to cram into their mouth each wanting to be asked, but Charlie swallowed them all. Unwilling to stop the conversation now flowing between the dragon and man.

The dragon hissed and released the circle of her body enough so that the two of them were only an arm's length away. Harry seemed to subconsciously back away from Charlie the moment he could, hissing at the dragon all the while. Charlie watched as the man in front of him began to have an argument with the dragon. Charlie realized that this was the most animated he had seen Harry. The first time he had seen Charlie and not had a minor panic attack. This would be good for Harry. Charlie also had to admit that he wanted to know more about the dragons, and Harry could help. Yes. This was only the beginning for them.

* * *

 **This is an updated version as of 3-9-2017**

 **The updated word count is now - 2,320**

 **The biggest motivator for me to re-touch my story as well as finishing it is all thanks to the people who continually favorite, follow, and reviewed it. So really ~ THANK YOU!**

 **Thanks so much for coming to read my story! I hope you enjoy the rest of it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Written for the Pokemon Challenge**

 **Prompts: Fight[fought], Ageless, Grieving, Corrosive, Energy**

 **Word Count: 2479**

 **Note: The competition has a 3000 word cap on each submission. This is why my chapters are so short.**

* * *

Harry slowly became aware of the world around him. His first thought was warmth and comfort. He opened his eyes for a peek and saw red hair. A hum of contentment slipped out of him and he pulled the body closer. But it felt wrong. So wrong. Harry's eyes shot open. He found a sleeping Charlie pulled close. He pushed himself back until he hit a warm wall. Then he closed his eyes. The pain of it being Charlie as well as the crush of memories ready to flood him, caused his fingers to shake. The shake moved up his arms until it reached his heart. His lungs stopped working and his vision tunneled. Red. So much red.

* * *

Charlie was thrown from his dreams into wakefulness. He heard a groan of pain and quickly sat up. He spotted Harry tucked against the opaleye's side and Harry was once again clawing at his chest. The opaleye was keeping her body still, but her head was swinging around and her breath was coming out in wuffs. It was she who had woken him. Charlie focused on Harry and sat next to him. He reached out and once again began to rub circles on the man's pressure points. Charlie tried to send soothing waves toward the man. For the first few seconds the man fought against the touch. Charlie nearly pulled away. After the first five minutes the opaleye curled into a small ball. Her neck was pressed to Charlie's back and her head rested above her tail. When he glanced up for a moment he saw that she had covered them all with her wings. It was then that Harry stopped struggling so much.

For twenty minutes the three of them sat there. The opaleye was holding still as though even the smallest move would break Harry. Harry was still gasping for breath although his body had stopped shuddering. Charlie was making sure he was breathing steadily to calm them all. Charlie watched as Harry's eyes flicked behind his eyelids. He watched as the tears slid out of his eyes this time. Charlie couldn't imagine what Harry was going through. I mean when he had heard that Ginny had died he had felt a pang for his little sister. At first he had been angry at Harry for not showing up to the funeral. But then Ron had told him. He had told him everything he knew. Charlie could hardly imagine the horror they had lived in. Harry never spoke about it. Charlie sighed. This was the task Ron wanted him to complete. Make Harry talk. The reasons had his sister-in-law's fingers all over it. But Charlie couldn't argue the logic.

Charlie was shocked from his thoughts as Harry sat up and pulled his wand. At first Harry's eyes were unseeing, but slowly they focused. Charlie watched as the man glanced over him before turning to the opaleye. Charlie sat watching as the two of them began to talk and Harry curled closer to her side. Charlie hesitated for a moment before slipping out of the ball. There he found some food that had been left by one of the other keepers. Charlie glanced at it before walking out of the cave. He needed time to think about what was happening. Harry obviously needed more help than someone to just listen to him.

* * *

"He was with you the whole time." The opaleye hissed at him. Harry glanced at the gap where he could see Charlie's feet walking away.

"I know." The opaleye closed the gap and tucked her chin on his knees. Her eyes stared at him and Harry felt unnerved. "What is it?"

"Storm-child." Harry blinked at her and waited. "I have decided that you are my storm-child."

Harry frowned and touched his forehead. "Because of this?"

"This?" The dragon peered curiously at his scar. "No Storm-child. I did not name you because of a mark on your skin."

"Then why?"

"Because you are filled with much thunder and rain. Storms are good for the world, but they can also cause great devastation. The energy in you needs a release." Harry felt his head droop and his eyes close. He didn't want to talk about this. Not even with a dragon. The dragon let out a low rumbling noise and rubbed his chest with the tip of her nose. "Hush storm-child. You do not need to release it now. We will speak no more of it. Instead we will go flying." Harry opened his eyes to see her wary one's watching him.

"I would like that..." Harry tapered off before asking. "I do not know your name."

"Ah Storm-child. You may call me Skyfish."

Harry couldn't help the smile tugging on his cheeks. "Skyfish?"

The dragon snorted. "Yes. The nu wa who raised me allowed a youngling to name me. However silly it may appear, it is now my name."

Harry laid a tentative hand on the massive nose. "I did not mean to offend you Skyfish."

"I am not offended. The humans around here have called me something even sillier so I would prefer Skyfish."

"What do they call you?"

"Opaleye." Harry held his chuckle in. He slowly opened his mouth to explain why she was called Opaleye.

* * *

Charlie had walked so far that he found himself entering the Ukrainian Ironbelly's territory. Charlie stopped before he could walk absently to his death. The Ironbelly seemed to have a particular dislike for him. Some of the keepers guess that it was because the opaleye was so partial to him. One of the newer keepers, a girl named Evaline Dosie, had some wild notion that the Ironbelly was romantically interested in the Opaleye. Charlie thought it really had more to do with general contrariness.

Charlie turned west toward where the Swedish Short-snouts had settled when he heard a 'whoop' from above him. Charlie looked up and saw the opaleye gliding through the sky. A small black speck on her neck must have been Harry. Charlie let out a small sigh of relief. The relief was quickly replaced by frustration. He could see some of the other keepers flying up on their brooms. Charlie nearly rolled his eyes before summoning his own broom.

By the time Charlie had taken to the skies the opaleye was being particularly allusive. Every Time the keepers would get close she would dive or swerve up. A particular skill that they had noticed in interest when she had first arrived was her ability to bend the wind currents. Charlie would bet the keepers were hating that skill now. Charlie got close and soon closed his eyes. He loved flying. It was something he had worked hard to be good at now. Charlie opened his eyes and danced with the winds that surrounded them all until he reached the opaleye's back.

She turned her head to shoot fire at him until she spotted who it was. Charlie was grateful, he didn't want to have to avoid flames today. Flying alongside until he was sure she wouldn't turn suddenly he jumped from his broom to her back. Charlie calmly walked to where Harry was sitting. Harry turned to him and grinned.

"Your flying was wicked! I knew you were the seeker at Hogwarts, but I don't think I ever realized how good you are!"

Charlie was counting his blessings, waiting for the man to turn sour, but he just continued to sit there grinning. "Well... perhaps we can have a seeker's game sometime." Harry nodded but before he could reply the opaleye let out a large stream of fire. Charlie sighed. "Just wanted to check that you were fine."

Harry let out another grin and nodded. "Better than fine right now."

Charlie nodded before flying toward the other keepers. He wasn't particularly surprised that Harry was doing fine. The moment he was outside of the dragon's reach three of the keepers swarmed him.

"Charlie! What is that man doing on the opaleye?" Jackson demanded. Charlie felt a headache coming on.

"It's fine. They both agreed to fly."

"Agreed?" Hannah asked. Charlie turned his broom toward her. She was a pretty woman, but more reserved than any other keeper. As he looked at her, he saw a knowing twinkle in her brown eyes. He almost growled. She had to have some form of Seer blood. She always seemed to know the truth about every situation. Charlie settled for a small glare before ignoring the question and turning to the final flyer.

Technically Darian Smith was his boss. It was a technicality that rarely came into play. Darian was better with the newly hatched dragons than anyone else, so he spent most of his time there. As long as the employees did what they were supposed to, he didn't really govern them. Charlie was a bit nervous for the man's reaction. Darian stared at him for a moment before waving the other two keepers off. They knew better than to argue. Darian gestured for Charlie to fly away from the opaleye.

Once they were both hovering a few hundred feet away Darian spoke up. "Is that who I think it is?" Charlie waited a moment for the man to clarify. "Is that Harry Potter riding the opaleye?"

"Yes sir." Charlie answered, his eyes on the dragon and her rider.

"Why is he here?"

"I will answer you sir. But this must be kept in strictest confidence. You know what the press will do to him regardless of my answer." Charlie glanced over to see Darian lower his head in acceptance. "He is grieving." Darian turned to look at him. "It's been a year since my sister's death, but he still hasn't told anyone what happened there. I suppose you read about it in the paper."

Darian snorted and Charlie almost missed it in the breeze. "There wasn't much to read. They found Potter and the... remains of your sister in a field. The papers said they had been trapped in the house behind them. They couldn't explain why the house looked like a corrosive acid had been poured on it. But they blamed Potter." _They always blame Harry_. Charlie thought to himself. "Potter refused to speak about who had captured them, or what had happened during or after their escape up until they were found."

Charlie turned his eyes upward. "Mostly true then." Charlie let out a sigh. "He refuses to go to a mind healer. My brothers, and my sister-in-law have tried everything they know. I am the last resort."

"He seems fine now." Darian said after a moment.

"I can guarantee that until he met that opaleye he has not smiled. And sir..." Charlie was reluctant to reveal it but it needed to be said. "He can speak with her." Charlie blinked and found Darian was now facing him full on. "Please don't tell the others. If it was anyone else... Harry Potter has always hated attention. This is his last hope right now. I don't know what I am going to do, but... I know what would happen if more attention was put on him right now."

"Magical instability?" Darian's eyes narrowed.

Charlie shook his head. "No. Nothing like that. He has complete control of his magic."

"Dark?"

"No. No."

"Suicide?"

"No. Dear god! I hope not. I don't know. I just know that my gut says it is a bad idea to let anyone else know. Please sir."

Darian considered him for a moment. "Very well. I will allow Potter to stay here indefinitely. But he is to stay in your housing. If you leave the sanctuary so does he. He may be alright with the opaleye, but I do not want him aggravating any of the other dragons. See to it."

"Yes sir." Darian flew away and Charlie let out a deep sigh. Leaning forward he balanced his chest on the broom and stared down at the ground below him. Reaching his hands out he could almost pinch the tree tops. After a moment he leaned back and pulled up. He flew as high as he could until his broom began to falter. He pulled it from under him and allowed himself to free fall. The wind whipped across his face and his hair. His eyes were closed but he could feel the sun warming his back and his fingers. His heart began to beat wildly. Finally he pulled the broom back under him and opened his eyes. He was just feet from the ground. He landed and glanced back up at Harry. The dragon was flying straight toward him.

* * *

Harry watched Charlie fly toward the other keepers until Skyfish craned her neck around and called to him. Cautiously Harry climbed up her neck until he was near her ear. "Yes?"

"Fire-child will be busy with the fleas for a bit. How about some quick flying. Yes?"

"Yes!" Harry gripped tighter and felt the dragon double in speed. The world began to blur around them. Up was down, down was up. Harry felt his heart grow wings and fly with them. The past tried to force its way into his happiness, but this joy was older. Nothing could destroy this joy. This joy was ageless. After a few minutes Skyfish slowed down and leveled out. Harry turned to see what she was looking at.

He saw the unmistakable sheen of red hair climbing quickly into the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight and so Harry watched as the man grew smaller and smaller. Finally he seemed to pause. Then he was coming down. When Harry first noticed that he wasn't on his broom he tensed, but then he saw that Charlie was gripping his broom firmly, but away from his body. Harry relaxed. He knew what Charlie was feeling. He had just felt the same thing. Nothing was more enjoyable than flying. Nothing.

At the last second Charlie boarded his broom and seconds later was on the ground. Harry didn't have the urge Skyfish to go anywhere, she was already taking off toward her Fire-child. The wind brought back her words. "Fire-child. You are amazing. It is too bad you are not a dragon. I would have you as my clutch-mate. Hm. Perhaps I should not name you Fire-child... Fire-soul... hmmm. Skyfish turned to him for a moment. "Do not repeat that to Fire-child. Do you understand Storm-child?" Harry nodded with a grin. They landed and Harry found himself on the ground before he knew it. He strode toward Charlie and gripped his arm. "We definitely have to have a Seeker's match sometime."

Charlie seemed shocked for a moment before gripping Harry's arm back. Harry felt his hands nearly burn though the clothes. Harry's heart seized and he immediately pulled back. He saw Charlie frown but turned toward Skyfish anyway. He suddenly felt very tired.

* * *

 **So big surprise. I continued the story.**

 **Please let me know what you think of this chapter? Did I keep up your expectations? Did I fail?**

 **Love you all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Written for the Pokemon League Challenge**

 **Prompts: Bubble, Pocket, Elsewhere, Dominant, Bittersweet, and Box**

 **Word Count: 1,897**

* * *

All three of them were silent as they flew back to Skyfish's cave. Harry glanced over to Charlie and saw him staring straight at his broomhandle. But even from here Harry could tell that Charlie's mind was elsewhere. Harry let out a sigh and turned back to look at the scales beneath him. His fingers absently traced a pattern while he debated his options. Romania had seemed like such a horrible idea when he had first arrived. It was starting to feel that way again. Harry rubbed at his arms where he could still feel the burn of Charlie's touch. Harry snorted quietly and rested his head against Skyfish's neck. Harry had been trained to think logically by the Aurors, and so he tried to understand why that man's skin was so warm. He could allow that it had nothing to do with the man himself. Really thinking about it, Harry realized he had been touched perhaps 2 times since leaving the Hospital after... Harry quickly steered his thoughts back. That was until he had come here. Already Charlie had touched him numerous times. Why did only this moment burn? The answer crept up from his subconscious. Because he didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve the man's goodwill. It was his fault... Harry again derailed that thought. Harry let out a heavy breath and turned his head to look at the world they were passing. He turned his mind off. For now.

* * *

Charlie landed softly behind the opaleye. He was almost afraid to land loudly, fearing that he would burst the bubble of silence around them. He watched as Harry slipped from her back and stood to watch as the opaleye entered her cave. Charlie stared at the man's back. If it had been anyone else, he would have put a hand on his shoulder. But just thinking of it reminded him of Harry's eyes. The eyes that had gone from a sparkling delight to absolute horror. Charlie lost track of the moments that they stood there, but the darkening of the sky drew his attention. He looked up before glancing at the form in front of him. He cleared his throat.

Harry slowly turned toward him, but his eyes were on the ground. "Let's get back to the house." Harry nodded slowly and followed him down the path. As they walked, Charlie's mind was in a whirl. What now? Did he leave Harry with the opaleye everyday while he worked? Did he bring Harry to meet the other dragons? Should he show Harry the library? Did he even like to read? But the most dominate thought was "How can I possibly help him?"

When they reached Charlie's small hut he paused at the doorway. Charlie took a fortifying breath before turning around. Harry was standing about 20 feet away. Charlie felt a small pain in his heart. He looked at Harry for a moment. The man was standing here with his hands clasped in front of him. He was staring at the ground and his shoulders were hunched. Everything about his posture screamed defense. Charlie closed his eyes. Reaching his decision he turned back around and opened the door. He went to the kitchen to prepare a meal and heard Harry walk to his room and close the door softly behind him. Charlie felt every muscle in his body sag and he sat on a stool. What could he possibly do?

* * *

The moment the door closed, Harry cast Silencio. The next moment, he was alone and he felt his walls fall. For reasons he couldn't tell you, the first sound out of his mouth was a bittersweet laugh. It shocked him slightly. It continued for a few moments. But then the sound changed into a much more familiar one. His chest tightened almost too much and Harry fell to the floor and pulled his knees to his chest. He tried to pull in the sounds but the sobs continued. Tears seemed to spill from him and soon his knees were damp. His mind couldn't choose one thing to focus on, but the general picture was of Ginny's smiling face. The moment he recognized it, his mind pulled up the memory. They had been so happy. Ginny had just made a new pasta dish she had learned from a friend. Harry had walked up behind her and put his arms around her. He had rested his hands on her stomach. He had nuzzled her neck. They made plans to announce it the next day. Then there had been banging on the door. Ginny had turned to look at him with worry in her eyes. The door had been blasted open.

Pandora's box was open. The memories swarmed him. He remembered faces, smells, pain, relief, blood, screams. Red seemed to surround him. Everything was red. Everyone was red. Red red red red. Black was a comfort and Harry ran into its embrace.

* * *

When Charlie called up to Harry he didn't get a response. He tried again. At first he was calm. He figured Harry needed a moment alone. But then worry crept in. There was no harm in just checking that he was... ok. Charlie put the steaks to the side and climbed the stairs. As he walked he listened. He couldn't hear Harry panicking again. This was good. He reached the door and called out. There was no answer. He tried knocking. Nothing. The worry in him grew like mold. He tried to door. Locked. He tried banging. Nothing. He tried Alohomora. Nothing. Panic had narrowed his vision and without much else he could do, Charlie blasted the door.

"Fuck." Charlie muttered before Harry's limp body hit the floor on the other side of the room. He didn't think Harry would have been right there! Why didn't he answer then? Charlie rushed over and was glad to see that there were only a few cuts on Harry's body. Charlie pressed his fingers to the man's pulse and found it erratic. Charlie realized that something was wrong. He shook Harry. Tried ennerverate. In the end he had to slap him. Harry sat up with a gasp and Charlie felt himself flying backwards.

His brain took a few seconds to figure out what happened. A humorless laugh left him. It was only fair that Harry hit him with the blasting curse as well. He turned to find Harry blinking slowly, as though he wasn't seeing the world around him. Charlie stood up, dusted himself off, and walked over to the man. By the time he was a foot away, Harry's eyes had cleared and he was looking around in worry.

"Charlie? What happened?"

Charlie put his hands in his pocket and shrugged. "This and that." Harry nodded before sniffing cautiously.

"Is that..."

"Steaks. Ready to eat?"

Harry frowned for a few seconds before nodding. "Yes."

Charlie smiled a bit before turning down the stairs.

* * *

When Harry woke up, he lay in bed for a few minutes. He considered what he was going to do. In the end he decided to visit with Skyfish. He found Charlie in the kitchen slowly eating toast, obviously still 3/4th dead to the world. He had finally convinced the man to sleep in his own bed, but it apparently hadn't done much good. Guilt tickled Harry but he pushed it aside. "Good Morning Charlie." Charlie grunted. "I'm going to go visit Sky... I mean the Opaleye." Charlie's eyes met his. He searched for a moment before nodding. "Thanks." Harry grabbed an orange and left the house.

He followed the half-remembered trail toward Skyfish. But a dragon came crashing down in front of him. Harry felt his eyes widen as he took in the familiar form. Hungarian Horntail. Harry froze. Suddenly it was like being 15 all over again. As he stared at the dragon he convinced himself that this was the same dragon from back then too. Goosebumps covered him as he watched the dragon look him over. Harry wanted to use a spell and run. But some part of him was whispering that eaten by dragon was a good way to go. The Horntail leaned its head close and breathed in his scent. It sat back, watched him for another moment, before taking off again.

Harry suddenly realized that he needed to breathe. He took a deep breath and decided that wandering was not a good idea. He pulled out his wand, which he should have had out in the first place, and cast a point-me on Skyfish. It pointed to his left. Harry turned the appropriate way.

* * *

By the time Charlie had dragged himself out of his hut, the day had already warmed up. He grabbed his broom where he had left the night before and flew to the posting board. Once he arrived he was greeted by a crowd of curious keepers. He ignored them as they spouted question after question about Harry. Why he was there. Was something wrong. Was he single. Charlie turned to glare at the woman keeper who had dared to ask that one. Her lips sealed instantly. At the board he traced his finger to his schedule. He was on Vipertooth duty until lunch, then he was to assist in medical. He read that again. He turned around until he found Smith sitting at a table to his right. Charlie pushed through the scragglers of the crowd. He sat opposite the man and almost groaned as his back complained. Apparently it still remembered sleeping in a chair the past few days.

"What's in medical today?" Smith was in charge of scheduling. He was really good at having the right keepers in the right places at the right times. It wasn't anything like Hannah and being a seer. No it was just good planning.

"We think that one of the Longhorns is going to birth an egg today. Unfortunately that would be the herd leader of the group. We are expecting at least 2 major injuries between the three who will probably vie for leadership."

Charlie nodded. "But why me? I am not particularly good with the Longhorns."

"Actually you will be in charge of checking on the Hebridean Black's nest. We have the wards up to keep the other dragons out, and we have the spells to keep the eggs warm. They shouldn't hatch for a while. But we need someone to flip the eggs and check for deformities. Darian can't today, he had to go to Switzerland about a dragon report. Someone says it was a Fireball but..."

"They can't deal with the cold. Right. Oh and who is on Opaleye duty today?"

Smith blinked a few times. "Richards. Why?"

"My guest will probably be with her most of the day, if not all. I just want to give Richards a heads-up." Smith opened his mouth as though to ask a question. But then closed it seconds later. "See you later Smith."

"Weasley."

Charlie was lucky in that Richards had just arrived. He approached him and gave him the warning. Including that the opaleye was attached to Harry. Luckily Richards was great with the Opaleye. He was also very sensitive to the moods of the dragons and would be able to react appropriately. Charlie wasn't that worried. He said goodbye to the last of the keepers before flying to the east and the Vipertooth den.

* * *

 **I blame the... emotional beginning on Inside Out. I finally watched it last night and it made me cry. But this was going to happen anyway, because obviously Harry is depressed. Prewarning, it will be still a bit bi-polar/depressing (from Harry's point of view) for a while yet. I hope to add some happy moments as we go on, but yeah.**

 **I am officially changing the story to "Incomplete" I have the momentum for this story.**

 **YAY!**

 **Oh and all my Dragons are JK dragons.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Written for the Pokemon Journey Challenge**

 **Prompts: Conceal, Repel, Mist, Soothe, Perplex, Elaborate**

 **Word Count: 2023**

* * *

By the third day, no one approached Charlie about Harry. It had only taken him hexing three of them the day before to make them stop. While Charlie approached the board he kept an eye out just in case. Everyone was rather agitated that day. When he looked at the schedule and found that he was still on medical duty he sighed. No one had heard from Darian since he had left. At this point Charlie could see the nervous looks shared between the other keepers. But it still left him perplexed to the tension flying through the air. Charlie quickly scanned the rest of the list and paused at Opaleye duty. Bates. That would explain it then. Agnes Bates was an Unspeakable who worked with the British Ministry. She had precedence over everyone, even Darian. In fact, the more Charlie thought about it, the more he felt the tension fill him. If she found out that Darian was out of contact, who knew what she would do. Her last visit had resulted in them putting down two dragons and the resignation of 3 keepers. Charlie glanced around and saw that most everyone was accounted for.

With a sigh Charlie climbed onto a nearby table and let out a shrill whistle. Faces shot toward him and Charlie could see the relief fill a few of the newer keepers. "Everyone, relax. As long as we are careful, last year's fiasco won't happen again. If she asks you about Darian just say he is on a mission off reservation. No more and no less. Do not let you or your dragons near the Opaleye while she is visiting. For those of you who are new," Charlie paused to look at the two standing near the wall. "Stick with your older partner. Smith probably has you working the same area anyway. Everyone. Take a deep breath. Let's try not to rile up the dragons." Charlie jumped from the table, grabbed his cloak and quickly left. He jogged as fast as he could toward the Opaleye den, hoping that he got there long before Bates.

* * *

Harry was laying under Skyfish wing scratching her favorite spot when Skyfish froze. Harry asked her what was wrong but she said nothing, just used her wings to push Harry beneath her, concealing him from view. Harry felt his blood pumping. He pulled his wand into his hand and crouched out of site of whatever was here. "Hello Opaleye. I am your carer for today. I just need to do a few tests. Take a few samples. And then you are..." Harry felt his teeth clench at the woman's voice, he could almost swear it was Umbridge. "Weasley." Harry felt a breath leave him. Somehow he felt safer.

"Madam Bates. I am sorry to disturb you, I just need to check on one thing before you begin."

"I assure you Mr. Weasley, that the Opaleye is in good hands."

Harry could hear Charlie shuffling his feet. "Yes Ma'am. I understand. I just need one moment..."

"That is unacceptable Mr. Weasley. I have been coming to this reserve for nearly 15 years now to do my job, and I cannot believe you would assume that one minor mishap on your part may cause me to fail in my own duties."

"I never assumed that ma'am." There was a moment's silence. "If I could just..."

"No. Mister Weasley. Need I remind you what happened the last time someone disturbed my working environment? Do I?"

Skyfish took this moment to act. She hissed out, "Storm-Child. Do not let the Scale Stealer see you."

"Do not hiss at me you great beast!" The woman's' voice filled with outrage. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the invisibility cloak. He put it on, pat Skyfish leg to let her know and slipped out of the protective circle. He found Charlie standing next to someone who could have been Umbridge's sister, and it made his stomach heave. But Harry quickly slipped behind Charlie and put a hand on his back.

Charlie started to speak to the woman, but Harry felt as though his hand was glued to the man's back. Warmth was seeping through his skin and it seemed to soothe the nerves he hadn't realized were fried. The warmth continued to flood him and Harry closed his eyes. But as he did so, he found red. His eyes immediately shot open, and his hand shot away. Still aware of the woman, Harry began walking with the now retreating form of Charlie.

He had explained to Skyfish a little of his fear the day before, although he didn't elaborate as much as she would have liked him to. But her advice had been to tell Charlie. She had also told him to learn to relax around Charlie. He hadn't had much time to do either, but now he was following Charlie to... actually he didn't know where. After glancing around to check that they were clear, Harry pulled off his cloak. Charlie continued to walk. "Charlie?" There was no response. Harry was reluctant but put his hand on the man's shoulder. Charlie jerked violently and stared at Harry with wide eyes before relaxing.

"Oh Harry. I didn't..." Charlie took a deep breath. "Sorry Harry. You can't spend the day with the Opaleye. That woman was Agnes Bates and not someone I would wish anyone to meet."

"Is there any relation to Dolores Umbridge?"

Charlie cocked his head to the side slightly and Harry's memory seemed to latch on it. Ginny had never done that. Harry successfully repelled the memories that tried to take over, and focused on the thought. Over the past few days it had been hard to see Charlie because of the similarities. But Harry felt grateful for the sudden distinction. "No." Harry blinked and looked at Charlie trying to recall what had prompted him.

* * *

Charlie saw the blank look and tried not to sigh. He decided to elaborate. "She had no relation to Umbridge. Why do you ask?"

Harry cleared his throat before answering. "She looks similar and sounds similar."

"Oh." Charlie found himself looking at Harry, really looking, in that moment's pause. Harry seemed to have a flush to his skin that Charlie was sure wasn't there originally. Whether that came from improvement or sun he couldn't say. But other than that, the man looked haggard. His clothes fit him a little too loose. His shoulders were a bit hunched, his lips looked extremely dry, and his eyes seemed to focus and unfocus. Charlie moved without thinking of it. He pulled the lipbalm he carried with him from his pocket. The potion coated his finger and he was rubbing it into that dry skin. When he pulled back, Charlie realized the flush was not sun related, as the man was now pale.

"Shit." Charlie took as many steps as he could away. "Damn it, Shit. Harry. Crap. I'm sorry. Bates just... my mind is just... take a deep breath ok? It was just lip balm... I..." Charlie felt his own lips seal as Harry shook his head.

"No... it's ok... Charlie. I think. I mean. Please don't do that again. But I know you didn't mean it..." Harry grew silent and Charlie felt as though he could almost pick up the dropped words. But he didn't.

Charlie cleared his throat. "What do you want to do today? You are welcome to go back to the hut or go exploring... carefully."

Charlie heard a dragon roar in the distance while he waited. "Could I..." Charlie looked at Harry and found him staring at his feet. "go... with you..."

Charlie cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like there was a large weight on his shoulders. "You want to come with me?" Harry nodded. Charlie licked his own dry lips nervously. Harry had been here nearly a week now, and he always seemed to avoid Charlie. But he was nodding before he could speak. "Sure! I am on medical duty all day, so nothing too exciting. Mostly just caring for some dragon eggs." Harry looked up and Charlie could see curiosity in his green eyes.

"Dragon eggs?"

Charlie nodded. "Yes. A few months back we had a Hebridean Black. But she was killed by a Hungarian Horntail. She laid a clutch of eggs, we are not sure of the species, as there are no other Hebridean Blacks near here. None of the other dragons will properly raise these eggs, so we have someone on duty to check the eggs and turn them. It will be really bloody hot in the room, but you are welcome to join me." Harry nodded again. "Good!" Charlie led Harry toward the cave dedicated to the eggs. The whole walk he told Harry nearly everything he knew about the Hebridean Black. Some part of Charlie knew he was babbling, but he was nervous that this opportunity to connect with Harry would vanish.

* * *

Harry could feel his fingers trembling slightly so he willed them still. Harry stubbornly ignored the drip of sweat that decided to go down his nose, and he ignored the itch on his wand thumb. His eye was trained on the egg that was slowly rising from the water. "Hold it there Harry." Charlie called out. Harry took a deep breath in and let it go slowly. This was only his third egg and he could feel his magic stretching in a new way. Charlie had mentioned that he did this all on his own usually. Harry couldn't imagine.

Harry's eyes sought out Charlie. The man was scribbling notes about the egg that was slowly rotating. Harry's attention was slightly distracted by Charlie sticking out his tongue in concentration and the egg wobbled in the air. Harry's eye shot back to the egg and he concentrated all the harder. "Alright Harry. Let it back in." Harry wanted to let out a sigh of relief but didn't. This part was almost harder to do. Slowly he lowered the egg back into the water. The slightly cooled surface entered the boiling liquid and slid beneath the misty surface. Harry felt the moment when the egg rested on the floor and dropped his wand in relief.

Charlie jogged over to him. "Alright there Harry?" Harry pulled his water bottle out and drank a large gulp.

"Yes. But can we take a break? Is it ok? I mean I don't want to endanger..." Charlie lifted his hand to silence him.

"It's fine Harry. Having two people working on this is making it a little faster. We can take a short break. And if you don't feel up to helping me finish the rest that is fine. I feel nice and fresh. You look..."

"Exhausted?" Harry supplied.

"Something like that."

"How was..." Harry was cut off by a loud pop. Harry and Charlie turned to the pool in time to see a bit of shell fly out. Harry's eyes shot to Charlie, the man was already conjuring a patronus and sending it off.

"Why why why? Dear god, I hope she doesn't hear about this." Harry had no doubt the man was talking about Bates again.

"Are they..."

"Hatching." Charlie confirmed with a firm nod of the head. "At least one of them is. Must be one of the few we hadn't got to, none of them bore the signs of near hatching. This is going to be interesting." Charlie seemed to say the last bit to himself.

"Why?"

Charlie glanced at him in surprise, as though he had forgotten Harry was there. Or forgotten that Harry wasn't a dragon keeper. "They will all hatch within the next few days now. Baby Blacks are among the hardest to control, and without Darian here..." Charlie sighed. But then he seemed to perk right back up.

"With you and the Opaleye..." Charlie groaned. "Bates!" Harry immediately looked to see if the toad-like woman was there but found it empty. "This is going to be very interesting." Charlie said finally before walking toward the pool of water where a set of curious eyes rested just above the water.

* * *

 **Nothing too exciting, but hopefully it hasn't fallen below your expectations of me.**

 **Now that November is finished, I should be posting my chapters more frequently once again.**

 **Please RR and if you have any storyline suggestions feel free to tell me.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Prompts: Insecure, Piece, Dependent, Feelings, Beautiful**

 **Words: 2,755**

 **Sorry about the delay my dears, there were some things to figure out before I could start writing this.**

* * *

As Charlie approached the water, Harry pushed himself off of the floor. He froze when the eyes turned to him. Slowly the head rose out of the water, and the baby dragon climbed onto the ledge of the pool. It never blinked. Something dropped in Harry's stomach and he could hardly breathe. He was not sure what his feelings were. His body was acting without any of his brain's input. He flinched when more shell pieces flew out of the air. He would have looked to see the other dragon, but the first jumped to the floor, it's wings open reflectively to make it's descent smooth.

"Careful Harry." Charlie cautioned. Luckily, that allowed Harry to break from the staring contest. His eyes turned to Charlie and they gazes caught. Charlie tried to look reassuring, but Harry could see that the man was truly worried. So Harry smiled at him softly and turned his attention back to the baby dragon, noting the two other heads in the water. The baby dragon itself was only a few inches from Harry, and he stepped back automatically. His foot slipped out from underneath him, and he hit the ground. "Harry?" Charlie asked panicked, but Harry rose a hand to reassure him that he was fine.

The dragon decided to climb Harry, and he felt little pinpricks of pressure when the baby's claws tried to press through the dragon leather pants he was wearing. Harry held himself perfectly still. The dragon arrived at his lap and held it's nose a mere hair's length away from his. Harry felt his eyes pulled into the purple ones. This close he could see how truly beautiful they were. His throat caught a little at it too. This seemed to satisfy the baby who promptly curled in Harry's lap like a cat and turned to watch Charlie.

* * *

Charlie trusted Harry would be ok. He wanted to watch that the dragon wouldn't attack the brunette, but he had to keep an eye on the pool to see how many of the eggs were going to hatch. There were two more dragons who seemed less inquisitive then their sibling as they were swimming in lazy circles rather than climbing out of the pool. One of them tried to climb onto a large piece of a shell that was floating, but it was too heavy and it ended up tumbling into the water again.

This prompted the other dragon to attack the floundering one. Charlie wasn't sure whether he should leave them be, or if he should interfere. Before he could make his decision, he heard the door open behind him. Praying to Merlin that he luck wasn't bad, he turned and nearly fell to the ground in relief. There was Darian. The man didn't even pause to say hello, just quickly walked to the pool and glanced in. He didn't seem to see Harry, so when the dragon was a short peep of greeting, Darian looked and froze. After a moment he turned his eyes to Charlie, and Charlie could only shrug. Darian turned back to the pool.

"Three of them are currently hatched. How many did you get to check before this happened?"

"We had just finished the fourth."

"Did any of them show signs of hatching?"

"No."

Darian let out a breath and nodded. "Then we potentially have 2 more dragons that could hatch soon. Smith, Richards; I want you two to be on constant watch. Smith you keep track of eggs and let me know when the other's hatch. Richards, I want you on Bates duty. If she leaves the Opaleye's territory, I want you to follow her, and distract her if she is coming anywhere near this area. Understood."

"Yes sir!" Both men called out, Richards leaving the doorway toward the Opaleye.

"Weasley. You and Potter are with me."

"Yes sir."

"I want you to use the fireplace to floo to the kitchen. Have then send over at least 6 large steaks." Charlie glanced at the fireplace on the far wall, it was used in the case of emergencies and only accessible from fireplaces within 2 miles. He glanced at Harry. The man was stroking the dragon's spine and appeared to be marveling the scales. Charlie nodded to himself before walking toward the fireplace.

* * *

Harry hadn't meant to zone out of the world around him, but he found that he could hardly look away from the dark scales beneath his fingers. As he pressed his fingers down the spine, he couldn't help but compare this dragon to a cat. He was, therefore, startled when the dragon suddenly hissed at the space in front of him. Harry looked up and saw a man he couldn't place. "Harry Potter. I will have to ask your assistance with this baby dragons, especially as this one seems to have imprinted on you."

"Imprinted?"

"In the case of most mammals, the first thing they see after birth they imprint on. They believe it to be their parent. However, dragons are slightly different. Dragons imprinting on humans is a strange and complicated thing. For the first month of life, they will be completely dependent on your emotions."

"My emotions?" Harry asked, a slight panic filling his chest.

"Yes. We are not sure why, but dragons who have imprinted on humans will have their health fluctuate according the satisfaction of life the human feels. We are not sure why the connection exists. But I am worried given your... emotional past."

"What happens if I become depressed?"

"If it is a short enough time, it will be similar to a seasonal cold. However if it lasts for more than a few days, it could potentially kill the dragon, or drive it insane. Either way is a terrible loss of life."

"I agree sir."

"Therefore, I must ask you to do something quite difficult."

Harry felt his stomach begin to cramp and saw red at the edge of his vision. He knew exactly what the man was going to say. It was what his whole family had been saying to him every since... and it was what Skyfish had told him just the day before. He would have to tell Charlie. He began to feel insecure of himself. Panic began to bubble in his blood. Red crept nearer and nearer.

Then he heard a pained cheep.

Harry looked down to see the dragon facing him with pain in its eyes. The purple pushed the red back and Harry forced himself to relax. He heard Hermione's voice at the back of his head speaking of his "saving people thing." Harry didn't know if that was what helped calm him. But he was greatful he averted the panic attack.

Harry looked up to see the man eyeing him. "You want me to speak with Charlie." The man didn't startle, merely met Harry's eyes and nodded once. "Fine. I will tell him. But I know that it will... hurt. What about the dragon?"

"As I said, as long as it is short, the dragon will recover just fine."

"When..." Harry cleared his throat against the rising panic, "When do you think would be best?"

"Now."

Harry heard the thumping of his heart as it attempted to stop. Now? To have no time to mentally prepare? No time to ask Skyfish for emotional support? Now? His breath quickened and red overtook his vision once again. A flash of pain on his cheek had Harry looking to the man in shock. He had slapped him! Then Harry felt the relief of the receding panic.

"I would recommend sharing the memory. Perhaps you are unable to tell it yourself."

"Yes... sir." Harry said, bowing his head in defeat. The baby dragon nuzzled his chin.

"Good. Then as soon as Charlie returns with the meat for these dragons, you will move to that room." The man gestured to a door he hadn't noticed earlier. "The three dragons will probably follow you. Let them. There is a pensieve under the bed. It is mine. But I will allow you to use it this once. I do require you to remove the memory from it once you are done. I am sure you don't want me to know, and I don't think I want to know either."

"OK."

* * *

Charlie walked over to where Harry was sitting. Darian had just turned away and walked back to the pool. As Charlie grew closer, he noticed the slight vacant look in the man's eyes, and how his arms cradled the dragon closer to him. It was then that he noticed the dragon looked to be a little sick. Charlie let out a breath as he realized what had happened. He slowly lowered himself to the ground next to Harry. "You OK?"

Harry let out a semi-hysterical laugh that made Charlie's eyebrows raise. "Yes. I just HAVE to talk to you now. The universe truly hates me. God..." Harry looked up at Charlie then, tears resting just on the edge of falling. "When you know... you might hate me too. But I have no choice. I have to tell you. Either than, or kill this little one."

Darian walked up behind Charlie. "You may want to move into my lodgings now. I have spoken to Harry already."

Charlie wanted to argue for Harry's side. He didn't want to force Harry to do this. But, there was nothing he could do. He watched as Harry nudged the dragon off his lap and stood. Harry led the way toward Darian's door and Charlie watched as the other two dragons climbed out of the pool to follow Harry and their sibling. Charlie followed behind as well.

Inside the room, Harry pulled a pensieve out from under the bed, and Charlie mentally thanked Darian for allowing Harry this one reprieve. He sat on the bed, put his wand to his head and pulled out a long strand of silver. As he dropped it into the pensieve, Charlie thought he detected a red tinge to it. Harry dropped 6 more memories into the pensieve before pulling himself into the corner of the bed where two walls met. The three dragons climbed onto the bed with him and wrapped around Harry's shaking form, the oldest dragon shaking a little itself.

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. He sat on the edge of the bed and peered into the pensieve. He could see the definite red tinge now. He knew it was blood, and he knew he was about to see a lot more. He took a deep breath before plunging his head into the liquid.

* * *

Harry watched as Charlie fell into the memory and he pulled the dragon closer to him. Charlie was going to know now. How Harry had failed his sister.

* * *

Charlie found himself standing in a kitchen he vaguely recognized. As Harry walked in, he realized that this must have been his home with Ginny. Suddenly, Charlie felt sick. He had almost forgotten that he was about to see Ginny's death. At this thought he turned to find Ginny washing dishes at the sink. Harry smiled joyfully at his wife before wrapping his arms around her. Charlie watched as Harry rubbed his hands over her belly and felt his own stomach grow heavy.

"I think we should tell everyone tomorrow night." Ginny said as she continued to wash the dishes.

"What? Tell them about our little Lily?"

"Or our little Sirius. Why are you so convinced I am going to give birth to a girl? I really think this one is a boy."

"Call it my Auror instincts."

"Ha Ha Ha." Ginny laughed before turned and wrapping her wet arms around Harry's neck. "But let's tell them right after Sunday Dinner. You know Mom has been waiting to hear positive news from us. Especially since Ron and Hermione announced that she was pregnant two weeks ago."

"It's not a race Ginny."

"I know! But," Ginny dropped her hands and placed them on her stomach. "But I want to be able to do baby stuff with Hermione now. Do you know that she is already looking into their baby's Elementary school?"

"I'm not surprised."

"And I really want to start planning the nursery. You are pants at decoration, so... please?" Ginny bat her eyelashes at Harry, and Charlie watched as the man caved.

"Alright."

"Yay! Ginny threw her hands around Harry's neck again and was about to kiss him when there was a loud pounding on a door outside of the kitchen. Charlie wanted to look, but felt it was important to keep his eyes on the couple. They shared a long look that expressed their love for eachother. Then they heard the door break open. All three of them turned to the kitchen doorway when a wave of purple magic flooded the room. Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny to protect her. As soon as the wave touched him, the memory faded away. Charlie was surprised to find that he had pulled his wand at the remembered attackers

He put it away as the next memory showed Harry awake. He was struggling as two wizards dressed in midnight blue robes with lace that covered their faces dragged him and Ginny down a gravel road. They were approaching a house that Charlie recognized as the one melted when they found Harry. As they approached the door one of them called for halt. The person pulled the sleeve of their robe back to reveal a muggle watch.

"In just under a minute... Remember, be quick." The men holding Harry and Ginny nodded. Harry continued to struggle, but Ginny was still. "Alright... and... Go." He opened the door and the men quickly shoved them in to the house. The moment the door opened, everyone gathered heard the screams of hundreds coming from everywhere in the house. Charlie felt sick to his stomach, but made sure to follow closely as they dragged Harry and Ginny into a small room just inside the building on the left. There were two metal tables with belts on them, and fireplace. Harry and Ginny were bound to the tables and the belts held them steady.

"Now... where to start?" A woman's voice asked as she strolled into the room. The memory faded.

There was obviously some time between the last memory and the current. Harry and Ginny were still bound to the tables, but each of their tables were covered in blood, Ginny's face was streaked with tears, and it looked like Harry bit his lip not too long before. One of the figures walked forward with a pair of scissors and pulled off Ginny's shoes. As he lowered the scissors, Charlie had to look away. Ginny began to cry out and scream, Harry was screaming to leave her alone, then there was a "shick" of scissors followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. The woman's voice said. "This little piggy went to market." The scissors made a hissing as they were opened again. But before she could repeat the action a small alarm went off. Charlie turned to see the figure walk over to a muggle alarm clock that he hadn't notice. She picked it up. "Darn. My turn is up." Three figures came into the room. They cast body bind on Harry and Ginny. The three figures pulled Harry and Ginny close. Two of them pulled out gold chains and wrapped it around them all. Charlie felt his stomach drop as he noticed the time-turner. He counted the rotations. 12. Charlie tried not to look at all the torture the two had gone through in the past 12 hours, but it was hard. When they stopped traveling, they were in the same room. The two figures walked over to the fireplace and threw floo into it. "Room 2" One of them, a man, called out "Room 2" before stepping through with Ginny. Harry soon followed.

Room 2 looked exactly like the previous room. Harry and Ginny were bound once again before the spell was lifted. The three silent figures walked out of the door and another figure entered. The figure cast examination spells, checking for injuries and the like. "Oh good." Another woman's voice said. "I was worried that you would be closer to death and I would have to be careful. Nope!" She cheerfully turned her wand to Harry and called out "Crucio!"

* * *

 **As this is being written for a Challenge with a 3,000 word cap; this is where I am stopping for now. I have most of the next chapter written so look forward to that soon.**

 **I will pre-warn you that the next Chapter is not for the faint of heart. I am going to write it in such a way that you are able to skip the chapter if you choose without losing the importance of what happened. There will be another warning at the top of the Chapter just in case.**


	6. Chapter 6

**And we're back.**

 **WARNING! - as I said, this chapter is going to have some more... intense scenes. If you are ok with that great, read on! If not, skip to the next chapter. I highlight the important parts in the A/N.**

* * *

"Imperio."

Charlie blinked as he found himself in the next memory. His eyes quickly searching for Harry and found the man staring blankly. Charlie couldn't help but feel surprised that Harry fell easily under the spell. Charlie could remember the stories of Harry throwing it off in his fourth year. Charlie watched as Harry rose from his blood painted table and walked to the man in the corner. This man Charlie vaguely recognized though he couldn't put his finger on why. The man sighed heavily, his voice laced with disapproval. "I had hoped you would put up more of a fight." He waited a moment, as though hoping Harry would start to resist. Charlie found he was holding his breath expecting the same. But Harry remained still. The man sneered. "Fine then. Let's see if this will help strengthen your will."

The man dug in his robes until he pulled out a wand. He held it out fearlessly to Harry and the brunette took it in hand. The room froze for a moment, each of them waiting to see if Harry was truly just acting. But nothing happened. Charlie was waiting for Harry to escape from the room. For Harry to do something. But Harry didn't do anything. The man flicked his wand in an obvious command. Harry walked toward the table where Ginny lay limply watching Harry with deadened eyes. Charlie fought to breath as he noticed her enlarged stomach. This wasn't the same Ginny as the previous. Maybe there had been spells to accelerate her pregnancy, but Charlie doubted it. Instead, it looked as though they had been here for months. No wonder Harry couldn't throw the curse, if what Charlie had glimpsed had been happening for such a long time. Just how many times had the two of them gone back in time?

Charlie was jolted out of his thoughts as Harry walked over to Ginny. The man paused with his wand raised. Charlie watched as Harry and Ginny met eyes for a moment. Ginny stared with a tiny spark of hope. The moment paused and Charlie's blood ran cold at the sound of Harry's first spell. A long slice cut through Ginny's stomach and she screamed with pain, although she never looked away from Harry. Charlie saw the man cast a new command from the corner of his eye. This time Harry hesitated. Charlie could see the man fighting the imperious now. Charlie felt his stomach drop. What could have Harry fighting so fervently when not even cutting his wife had done so. Charlie knew moments later and his stomach turned viciously as he watched Harry plunge his hands into Ginny's stomach.

Ginny began thrashing, her arms straining against the straps that held her down. She screamed Harry's name over and over. Charlie looked at Harry's eyes, unable to watch his hands. The pain in those eyes cut Charlie and he watched as tears began to spill out of Harry's eyes. But nowhere did Charlie see any hope. That was almost as painful as what was happening to his sister. Harry Potter had no hope. Charlie felt his own tears well up and slip down his face.

Moments later Ginny let out a heartbroken wail. Charlie hadn't realized he was still hopeful until the sound shattered his heart. His eyes turned without his permission and Charlie felt as though a Dementor had entered the room. Ginny was sobbing helplessly, her body slack with exhaustion and sadness. Harry's body was the opposite. It was rigid. All four of them; the man Harry, Ginny, and Charlie, looked at the small body in Harry's hands. The baby was tiny with a few strands of dark hair. It's eyes were open and brown eyes looked around confused as it opened its mouth. Closed its mouth. Tried to breath. Could not. Harry's body sagged in utter defeat when his child quickly died. Ginny's sobs redoubled and Charlie felt his heart break for her and for Harry. Her lips moved as though to say something, but nothing came out but the sound of her breath fighting against her.

The man forced Harry to lay the broken body in the crook of Ginny's arm and Ginny was able to moan her agony at that. Harry froze for a moment, the sight of a dead child and a dying Ginny seemed to cause his knees to grow week and he collapsed next to Ginny, the wand very near her hands. But Ginny either didn't notice or didn't care as she turned her face and eyes as far from the child as possible.

The man was seemingly solemn as he gave a command that caused Harry to stand up and strap himself back to the table. The man picked up the wand which Harry had left next to Ginny. He fingered it slowly, smearing the fresh blood along the wood before pocketing it once more. He glanced at Ginny for a moment before casting a complex healing charm on her stomach. The wound instantly healed, leaving only a small scar to show where Harry had cut her. Charlie realized in a flash why he knew the man. He had disappeared just before Harry had defeated Voldemort. Cornelius Hedgeback, head Healer of St. Mungo's maternity ward. Known for healing even the most fatal of maternal injuries. Charlie could see no regret in the man's eyes and he had to wonder what had happened to this man to cause him to be capable of such an atrocity. But then the memory disappeared.

This time Charlie found himself floating in a gray space, as though the Pensieve was giving him time to recover. Charlie doubled over and heaved. Having no real physical form, nothing came out of him, but his ribs ached painfully with the force of his stomach. Tears streamed down his face and he could hardly breath. His little sister. His poor little sister. A small voice whispered that he should hate Harry. But Charlie quickly silenced it. He couldn't blame Harry. Not for this. Harry was traumatised. Anyone could see that. Charlie didn't doubt that this memory cause the majority of the man's pain. If Harry had been happy and smiling... Charlie shook his head again. Even then, he couldn't hate Harry for Hedgeback's twisted mind.

The dry heaves subsided, but Charlie felt his sobs take over. He could hardly breathe for the pain his sister and her husband had gone though. Charlie knew there were three more memories, but he was tempted to pull out now. He was so tempted. He couldn't even imagine what the rest of these memories could be. The sound of Ginny's sobs and the sight of Harry's tears seemed to surround him like water. Pushing and pulling. He fought to keep his own sanity despite what he had learned.

It took a while for his tears to dry, his body unable to produce anymore. Charlie was lying on the ground, his arms around his heart, when the pensieve pulled him into the next memory. Charlie found the strength to stand up, to see what the next memory had, though his legs shook with the effort. Harry and Ginny were laying on the familiar tables facing each other. The room echoed only with the sound of their synchronized breathing. Charlie hardly noticed that there was no one else in the room. Charlie watched as Harry and Ginny looked only at each other. Harry's held a desperation, Ginny's a surrender. But that was all. Ginny's eyes held no other emotion. They were the eyes of a dead woman. Charlie caught his breath at the thought. Ginny's breath came a pace slower than Harry's. Harry's sped up as though to compensate. Slower and faster. Until Ginny let out a long deep sigh. It was the sound of life leaving her body. Harry's breath caught in return. Silence echoed around them, and Charlie saw the moment when Harry's eyes turned to that of a dead man living.

It was only until the next memory that Charlie realized he hadn't been breathing again. He took a deep breath before looking to find Harry lying on one of the tables. The other was empty. Charlie wondered if this was moments later, or many rotations later. There was no way to tell. Charlie noticed the man cutting slim lines across Harry's arms only because of the sound of the Weird Sisters top hit. Despite the lines of blood that ran down his skin, Harry didn't seem to care. His green eyes were staring at the empty table next to him. The man who was cutting Harry didn't seem to mind Harry's distraction, and was even humming a little to himself as he did so. This one Charlie recognized as a follower of Voldemort who had disappeared. There had been so many who had escaped.

Charlie and Harry were both jolted out of their dazes when a woman opened the door to enter. As the door opened screams echoed from outside. It was only when they heard a very familiar wail that Charlie made the connection. Charlie looked to Harry to see a spark of life. His eyes had turned from the table to the door. The woman chuckled as she noticed his attention.

"Oh yes Potter. You can hear your wife's screams as you ripped the child from her womb. She's in the room right next to this if I am correct." The woman giggled and Charlie blanched at the joy in her voice. What kind of people were these?

Harry opened his mouth and his lips spoke the name of his wife, though his breath didn't make a sound. The woman laughed again before shutting the door and the sound out. "Do you know Potter, these rooms are designed to be soundproof on the inside. But the sounds echo through the manor outside the rooms. Our illustrious leader thought of that one. Our leader wanted to hear you losing all sanity and all hope. Finally, they will be the one to kill you. Have in fact. I just watched it." The woman grinned. Charlie turned to see Harry's reaction. But Harry was only watching the door, his lips mouthing 'Ginny' over and over again. And Charlie noticed a small spark of hope in the man's eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'll admit to crying as I wrote the last chapter and this. I hope I captured the emotions clearly to make you cry too. For those of you who skipped the last chapter (perfectly understandable) here is the quick recap I promised**

 **Memory 4 - Harry is forced to kill the unborn child in Ginny's stomach**

 **Memory 5 - Ginny gives up and dies**

 **Memory 6 - Harry realizes that the screams they heard when they entered (See Chapter 5) are actually the screams of Ginny and himself due to the time-turner. Specifically he learns that the room next to his at the time held a living Ginny.**

 **But that's that. Here is the final memory and Charlie's reaction.**

* * *

The final memory was clear. Charlie hadn't even realized that the past two memories had been hazy until he appeared in a memory so clear he had to blink his eyes to adjust. His eyes immediately sought out Harry. He way lying bound to the table, his eyes trained to the roof of the room, but Charlie could see the life, the determination, and the hope that glittered in the green eyes. The sound of tinkling came from the corner where an older woman was digging through potion vials. Charlie recognized some healing and fortitude potions along with potions he had never seen before. She had just picked up a deep silver one when an alarm went off.

"Damn it! I still wanted to try 2 more" with a huff she stood and released Harry. She didn't seem overly concerned for her wellbeing as she immediately turned her back on the now freed Harry. Harry burst into sluggish action seconds later. He snatched the wand from the woman's surprised hand and had stunned her wordlessly before she could call out. Harry wobbled over to the table and picked up what Charlie recognized as a strengthening potion. He leaned against the wall until the tremors stopped. He stood and stretched a bit, before taking another strengthening potion and blasting the door down.

Outside the room Harry quickly stunned the three nearby people. His lips not moving. The screams echoed around them. Harry went over to a rail and Charlie found they were looking at the main door. Five familiar figures quickly entered the building and went into a room. Ginny's vibrant hair flashing. Harry froze. Charlie wanted to scream that Harry could go get his sister now when he realized two things. One, things happen the way they are supposed to. If Harry had gone back and rescued Ginny in the beginning, Harry wouldn't have watched her die. Even if Harry wanted to try, he was too weak to take on the men who had captured them to begin with. Harry was obviously reluctant when he turned and went the opposite way. He cast a 'point-me' and Charlie followed the man, wondering where he was going.

Finally they approached a door, Harry's wand pointed straight at it. Harry took a deep breath before casting a disillusionment and pushing into the room. There were two figures, a man and a woman. The woman standing wasn't anyone who Charlie recognized. But the man was instantly familiar. It was Harry. Charlie couldn't find his Harry and so turned to watch. The woman lifted her wand and cast the final unforgivable. Charlie gasped as Harry Potter's body slumped over dead. There was a mild cheer from 3 others gathered that Charlie hadn't noticed.

"It's over. Go and do what you will." The woman spoke softly, her voice sounded only exhausted. The crowd, including the insane woman from the memory before, left and the woman approached Harry Potter's body. "It is about time you died."

"Why did you do this?" Charlie and the woman instantly looked over to where Harry Potter stood, his wand pointed at her heart.

"That's not possible. You never escaped!" She screamed, terror lacing in her voice.

"Tell me why!"

"No! It isn't possible! The time-vortex wouldn't allow it!"

"MAYBE IF YOU HADN'T MADE ME LIVE THE SAME 12 HOURS 416 TIMES THE VORTEX WOULD GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR RULES!" Charlie took a step back at the anger surging around the man. The woman stumbled backward and hit the floor. "YOU TOOK GINNY AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES ANYMORE!" Charlie heard the woman whimper. "GO TO HELL." Green light surrounded the tip of his wand before surging to the woman.

Charlie followed soundlessly behind Harry. He felt like he should say something, but what could he say? This was a memory. But the woman had changed something. She had said Harry hadn't escaped, which meant that the time-vortex would rebound anytime. Harry ran to a room where they could still hear Ginny whimpering Harry's name. Harry burst into the room, green surrounded the torturers. He glanced only a moment at his own unconscious form before freeing Ginny. She clutched to him mindlessly, seemingly unaware that this was different that the Harry on the table. Harry carried her bridal style, her feet gone at the ankles.

Harry killed everyone he saw until he finally exited the house. Charlie felt the tension in the air around them. It tugged and pulled. A scream came from the building they were walking away from and Charlie watched the time-vortex take its toll. The house melted on itself, appeared to be a candle that was burning quickly, until it turned into a recognizable ruin. Harry cried out and Charlie's eyes turned to the man. Ginny was melting too. Harry clutched at her, his magic dancing around her trying to save her. She reached up with a tentative hand that he immediately grasped, she smiled softly before all but her hand disappeared. Charlie felt his heart break anew. Magic surged from Harry and ripped the wards from the air around them. Charlie watched as the man cradled his wife's hand sobbing. There was a sound of disapperation and Charlie looked up to see Ron Weasley running toward them. Then the memory faded and Charlie was dropped back into Darian's room.

Charlie stared down into the pensieve, tears spilling from his eyes. His mind was numb and he couldn't think straight. A soft peep had him looking up to see a terrified Harry clutching to the dragon as though it were his last hope. Charlie reacted instinctively. Standing he approached Harry and ignored the flinch of the man. He reached out, and hesitated when Harry flinched so hard he hit his head against the wall. Charlie looked into the green eyes and saw sadness and guilt. Charlie growled and Harry closed his eyes as though preparing to die. Charlie grabbed the man's shoulder and tugged.

* * *

Harry had said to himself that he wouldn't' fight. That he would take whatever punishment Charlie wanted to give him. He had convinced himself of that over and over again as the man had sat with his face in the pensieve. But he was unprepared to be pulled and so fell forward. His eyes shot open to see the dragons scattering before his face was pulled into a shoulder. Unexplained panic filled him and Harry struggled against the arms now wrapped around his middle. He didn't deserve a hug. He didn't. His own tears misted his vision, but he blinked them away. Charlie was just as strong as he looked. Harry was unable to escape the grip of the man and he made himself sit rigidly. It was only when he did that he could heard Charlie sobbing into his shoulder. This made Harry's own breath catch and he fought against the tears that threatened. Then Charlie spoke and Harry almost couldn't' take it. "I forgive you." Harry choked back a sob. "Dear god, it wasn't your fault. But I forgive you." Ringing filled Harry's ears but Charlie's voice was still clear. "Thank you for trying." Harry couldn't stop his tears. His body shook and his breathing was erratic. Sadness untainted by his memories surrounded him and Harry couldn't resist his body's instinct. He wrapped his arms and legs around the man and truly cried. The bleakness of his heart seemed to grow with every moment but then Charlie would adjust his hands or say something more and it would beat back the sensation. This only caused Harry to cry even more and pull the man closer. He didn't deserve this. He knew he didn't deserve this.

Suddenly a memory enveloped him. It had been about a year after the Battle. Something had sparked him and Harry had ended up sobbing to Ginny. She had calmed him down and told him. "Everyone needs a good cry now and again. No one can blame you for that. And if they do? Fuck them." The memory caused a bit of laughter to escape now as it did then. Ginny had been everything he had needed in life. And she was gone now. He might as well have killed her. But her brother was here, hugging him close, telling him it was OK. He knew what Ginny would have told him. His tears changed. His body relaxed and he began to cry. He began to cry for himself and his loss, and Charlie seemed to know that and cradled him closer. Harry felt the dragons lay next to them, and Harry realized for the first time - at least one person didn't hate him. One person and four dragons.

Harry didn't stop crying but he accepted the blackness that tugged at him and allowed himself to fall asleep.

* * *

Charlie felt Harry's body slack not long after his tears had dried up and he had held Harry simply because the man had needed it. He glanced at the door of the rooms, but figured Darian would get him if the man needed assistance. He leaned down to lay Harry on the bed, but Harry's grip was unrelenting even in sleep. Charlie noticed that the man was even crying quietly in sleep. He paused for only a moment before layed down next to Harry and pulling the man close to give him comfort.

Charlie was nodding off when he felt a dragon climb on top of him. He opened his eyes to see the oldest dragon eyeing the small gap between him and Harry. He leaned invitingly and soon three dragons climbed into the space and curled up, a nice heater. The oldest one lay watching Charlie and Charlie watched it back until sleep overcame him as well.

* * *

When Harry woke up he found himself under 6 dragons and wrapped in the arms of one Weasley. For once, red did not threaten to overtake him. He wondered what had woken him and looked up to see the man from earlier standing in the door frame. The man smiled at them all before leaving and closing the door. Harry hesitated only a moment before allowing to sleep to wrap around him again.

* * *

 **As a final aside - thank you to all who are following this story/liked this story/reviewed this story. Unlike a few other MCs of mine, this one will be finishing eventually. Its just a matter of dealing with my own emotional turmoil while writing the chapters. I'm going to aim for uploading a chapter every 6 weeks at the latest and sooner if I can.**

 **You are all amazing, and please let me know what you think and any recommendations. (And yes I know I need a BETA to deal with all my errors)**


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